L’avaient (en. Had it)

la-veu

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

verb

Indicates that several people possessed something in the past.

They always had it with them.

Ils l’avaient toujours avec eux.

Used to ask questions about possession in the past.

Did they have it before leaving?

Est-ce qu’ils l’avaient avant de partir ?

Used to talk about a shared past experience.

We had experienced it together.

Nous l’avions vécu ensemble.

Form of the verb to have, derived from Latin 'habere'.

they had said

They had mentioned it before.

l’avaient dit

they had understood

They had grasped the idea.

l’avaient compris

they had done

They had completed the task.

l’avaient fait

to have

Verb meaning to possess.

avoir

detention

Action of holding, keeping something.

détention

to possess

To have ownership of something.

posséder

To be in possession of an object or information.

I had it in my pocket all day.

Je l’avais dans ma poche toute la journée.

To have had an experience or a situation.

We had already experienced it in June.

On l’avait déjà vécu au mois de juin.